Reviewing a whole year across a notoriously shapeshifting genre is never an easy task, and one made even harder when many of the leading players of the current global goth/post-punk scene - She Past Away, Whispering Sons, Then Comes Silence, Diavol Strâin, Molchat Doma, Ground Nero, Ashes Fallen, Kaela Mikla, All My Thorns, to name but a few - didn’t release any new music at all (bar the odd cover version, live album or remix).
However, the old guard continued to mobilise, to the extent that it’s increasingly hard to think of acts from the original gothic wave of the early 80’s who aren’t still touring and/or releasing new material. This resurgence was reinforced in the UK by the relative success of Forever Now, the one-day festival held at Milton Keynes Bowl, which was billed as a celebration of alternative culture by its (Cruel World) organisers, with a whole raft of pensionable goth-adjacent acts on the bill drawing a reasonable sized audience (which was, however, swelled by late cut-price ticket promotions), finally banishing the spectre of Alt-Fest.
Heritage acts were also prominent on a more low-key local (to me) event, the inaugural Deadinburgh Festival in Scotland’s capital, a genuine gathering of the gothic clan which however paired reinvigorated old school box office guarantee acts like The March Violets and 1919 with newer ones like Cold in Berlin and Witch of the Vale in a successful event which captured the full breadth of the current goth dynamic.
Deadinburgh was part of a very welcome proliferation of goth festivals across the UK, with Nottingham, Leicester, Sheffield, Leeds, Halifax, Whitby and Morecambe all now staging multiple events just in the upper half of England, whilst as will be seen in the countdown below, it was bands from further north-east (like Social Youth Cult and Black Rain) who saw the UK gothic focal point switch to Newcastle, home of scene observer, promoter and commentator The Blogging Goth for the first time.
On a more global level, it has been disappointing (but sadly not surprising) to witness the apparent popularity of the Goths Against Cancel Culture movement which, despite its protestations to the contrary, seems fully at odds with the genre’s basic ethos, whereby all are welcomed and respected for who they are (until they breach others’ rights or behave in an offensive, misogynistic, homophobic or racist manner, for example). By nature, goths are often more sensitive souls who gain strength through uniting with others who feel similarly at odds with mainstream culture and society in a mutually supportive manner, and those who have felt emboldened by wider political movements and have been fuelled by illogical fears to positively revel in spreading hatred and division have done nothing but demonstrate why cancel culture was so necessary in the first place.
On a more technical level, one of the bigger challenges facing goth (and indeed all) musicians has been the rise of AI, and how (if at all) to harness its power without harming artistic integrity and creativity. Bandcamp has always hosted many genuine single person multi-instrumentalist goth acts with no ‘live’ performances, but it is increasingly difficult to differentiate between these old school creatives and those tech boffins churning out swathes of generic goth thanks to ever more powerful iterations of AI. Whilst some are open about using AI in order to obtain seemingly more impressive final product, others are less forthcoming about its use in the creative process, whether in composition, performance or production, not to mention sleeve photography and video production.
Despite a clear increase in scene nombrilism and the fallow year for so many outstanding talents, fortunately there were still many excellent releases, which are hopefully exemplified in this year’s highly subjective ‘Best Of’ list. Before highlighting this year’s Top Ten, an honourable mention for those who just missed out and fill positions 11-20 in this year’s countdown…
At the deathrock end of the spectrum, both veterans Altar da Fey and Cataphiles deserve great credit for the quality and energy of their releases respectively, with trad goth act In A Darkened Room and post-punkers Lathe of Heaven both producing fine guitar-based sophomore albums. Both Vacios Cuerpos and Piel de Lana upheld Mexico’s deserved reputation as purveyor of the world’s best minimalist darkwave. Ash Code’s Synthome saw the band continue to grow as one of the leading lights of the darkwave scene, with Silver Tears also successfully combining guitars and synths to cross the great goth divide. Further along the spectrum, both The Discussion and Mark E Moon produced high quality melodic albums which would also appeal to those with more mainstream taste. Kudos also to Divine Shade for their stunning début compilation album, and to Dead Spells, Blood Dance and others who just missed out on the countdown.
THE TOP TEN (click on album title for Bandcamp link)
10 LIGHT OF ETERNITY - Distraction EP
Weighing in at over twenty-two minutes, the four tracks on Light of Eternity’s third EP continue the breath-taking form of 2024’s opening post-industrial salvos from this dark project by former Killing Joke drummer Big Paul Ferguson. Pauly Williams’ ability to bring the fire and conjure up the ghost of the late lamented KJ guitarist Geordie in all of its various guises remains nothing less than astonishing, and Fred Schreck’s alluring storytelling vocal style is the perfect foil for the excoriating, bone-crushing riffs, synth drones and pummelling drumming.
Starting the North of England takeover of this year’s Best Of 2025 list, Black Rain’s up-tempo gothic post-punk blossomed on their eponymous début album which paired five excellent studio tracks with some live recordings. Black Rain may claim to be “too punk to be goth, too goth to be punk”, but their multi-layered guitar-driven sound is very much in the style of early acts like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and Comsat Angels or more recent ones like Lathe of Heaven). Buzzing bass, some ferocious drumming and a more distant vocal combine effectively on a series of intense yet melodic songs on this impressive début.
8 BYRONIC SEX & EXILE - Songs From The Blood
Joel Heyes’ impressive flow-rate continued unabated in 2025, with BS&E releasing fourteen new tracks across two extended EPs even before this album’s appearance towards the end of the year, with the quantity of tracks matched by their quality. The brooding, atmospheric ambiance of songs like Stronghold of Night is enhanced by the dancefloor friendly power of dark anthems like Obsession (Kissing with Teeth), with Heyes’ vampiric lyrics adding to the satisfyingly bloody concoction.
Cold In Berlin have flirted back and forth between the goth and metal scenes with their alternative doom rock sound over the past fifteen years, and their fourth album Wounds sees them inching back towards to the welcoming bosom of a gothic scene which they never really emotionally left. As ever, Maya’s haunting vocal is the centrepiece, with that intriguing mixture of purity and other worldliness which Grace Slick first evoked back in the 1960’s, and there’s something timeless about the band which has helped to maintain and extend their appeal across artificial scene boundaries. The beautifully-crafted songs are played with both reverence and perfect precision by the band, translating the passion and raw emotion of their legendary live performances into a studio setting.
6 THE JAN DOYLE BAND - The Ravenspurgh Gothic Phantasmagoria Soundtrack
This album and its accompanying video from The Jan Doyle Band (aka Derek from Doncaster) in full goth mode is a phenomenal take on the spirit and sounds of the very earliest years of the goth scene, borrowing liberally from both the positive punk and futurist movements to create a thrilling potent mix of spidery guitar, syncopated low-Fi drum machine rattle and descending basslines topped with a louche absinthe-drenched vocal. Featuring tracks from previous releases, the video (which was shot in various Yorkshire graveyards) hints at the breathtaking performance art of the act’s live show, best viewed in a dingy basement club.
Any lingering doubts that 90’s legends might not be able to repeat the magic of their memorable trio of studio albums on their reformation are dispelled within the first minute of impressive opening track Crash. The gossamer threads of Franck’s shimmering guitarwork , Sébastien’s powerful and emotive vocal, Christophe’s busy and unpredictable basslines and the trademark subtle inventive drum patterns (now provided by Fabrice Gouré) are all thrillingly present and correct, but with the added advantage of twenty first century production values. To counteract the perfection of the latter, there’s a deliberate detuning effect on a number of tracks which adds to the dramatic edge to a project which whilst growing older gracefully maintains the charming embrace of its early appeal.
4 NATURES MORTES - Blind Submission
Impressive début album from Polish deathrock act Natures Mortes, featuring some outstandingly eerie guitar work and a full-on gothic punk sound which dips successfully into a variety of neighbouring subgenres for a satisfyingly uncompromising listening experience. This energetic, full-on cemetery experience is available as a digital download and a very groovy purple cassette.
Wonderful album of polished and melodic contemporary darkwave gothic rock which is a fabulous amalgamation of the best-loved components of the previous waves of the genre, whether the driving basslines of the Sisters, the sinister atmosphere of Bauhaus and Christian Death or the dark dancefloor sensibilities of Suspiria and Angels of Liberty. This rich and varied set is from a Californian act which is currently a solo project, which makes this stunning album all the more remarkable. Available as digital download only.
2 SOCIAL YOUTH CULT - The Lighthouse
Newcastle’s Social Youth Cult had already gained the de facto title of Britain’s best young goth act on the back of a couple of promising singles, but this stunning début album rightly catapults them straight onto the global scene. The opening pair of tracks show the astonishing rate at which they have developed: opener Venus is a buckle-your-seatbelts deathrock joyride, whilst stripped back atmospheric post-punk lament Close To Nothing has a depth and subtlety which some acts fail to capture in decades-long careers. The Lighthouse is as challenging and rewarding a listen as the stark delights of Unknown Pleasures, Killing Joke and In The Flat Field (three useful reference points) were some forty-five years ago.
Ignore the two high profile collaborations (with Trent Reznor and Boy George) released as singles (as they are by far the worst two tracks). This sublime album ranks as one of the finest in Murphy’s long career, with his mesmerically expressive and rich vocal timbre the icing in the cake of a fabulous set of songs most of which were co-authored and expertly produced by Youth. Epic tracks like The Artroom Wonder, Xavier New Boy and The Meaning Of My Life build to monumental choruses with Bond-theme levels of bombast and give full reign to the raspier tone in his upper range which Murphy has showcased on recent albums.
